15 arrested at Sogo #Blackout 505 flash mob (Video)
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15 arrested at Sogo #Blackout 505 flash mob (Video) |
- 15 arrested at Sogo #Blackout 505 flash mob (Video)
- 16 peserta 'flashmob' ditahan polis depan Sogo...
- The technology for a better world … yet most of us on planet earth refuse to recognise it let alone adopt – why is it we are such fools?
- Systemic Failure (Part III): Information infidelity
- Putting words into the Prime Minister's mouth
- Pasai Ku Li buat gempaq,Najib dan Anwar bertemu di Jakarta?...
- Time for a Parks, Gardens and Greenery Board in Penang
- Why is Transport Ministry Silent on KLIA2 Fiasco?
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15 arrested at Sogo #Blackout 505 flash mob (Video) Posted: 15 Jun 2013 10:07 AM PDT Footage of the arrests at Sogo during a flash mob yesterday to generate publicity for the 22 June rally for electoral reforms. The group also called for the resignation of the Election Commission chairman. It seems the arrests have inadvertently provided even more publicity for the event. All the detainees were released on police bail [Read more]
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16 peserta 'flashmob' ditahan polis depan Sogo... Posted: 15 Jun 2013 04:27 AM PDT  Seramai 16 peserta 'flashmob' termasuk seorang wanita dan kanak-kanak ditahan sewaktu mengadakan 'flashmob' di hadapan gedung membeli-belah Sogo sekitar jam 2.50 petang tadi.  Mereka ditahan sewaktu mengadakan acara tersebut menjelang himpunan Black 505 di Padang Merbok pada 22 Jun ini.Di antara yang terawal ditahan adalah Pengarah Propaganda NGO Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), Edy Noor Reduan Menurut seorang pegawai polis memaklumkan bahawa mereka di bawa ke ke Ibu Pejabat Daerah Dang Wangi, dengan kenderaan Black Maria untuk tindakan lanjut. Selepas kenderaan itu beredar, aktivis pelajar Ekhsan Bukharee dan seorang peserta lagi kemudiannya ditahan selepas membuat pengumuman supaya orang ramai berhimpun di depan balai Dang Wangi sebagai tanda solidariti kepada 14 orang yang ditangkap.  Mereka dibawa IPD Dang Wangi dengan berjalan dalam keadaan bergari dan diiring dua anggota polis.Penahanan tersebut berlaku selepas kira-kira 30 peserta 'flashmob' berkenaan menyeru orang ramai supaya turun ke himpunan membantah dakwaan berlakunya penipuan dalam pilihan raya umum lalu. Mereka berdiri di hadapan gedung Sogo berhadapan Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman selama kira-kira 30 minit bermula sekitar jam 2.15 petang. Sebahagian daripada mereka memegang plakad bertulisan 'Pengerusi SPR sila letak jawatan' dan 'Mari turun 22 Jun Blackout'.  Kira-kira 30 orang termasuk petugas media kini berada di hadapan ibu pejabat polis ini untuk mengetahui perkembangan lanjut mereka yang ditahan.Aktivis mahasiswa, Adam Adli adalah antara yang menunggu di hadapan balai ketika ini. Seorang peguam, New Sin Yew yang tiba di pintu masuk IPD Dang Wangi itu untuk menemui mereka yang ditahan polis. Anggota polis yang berkawal di pintu masuk tidak membenarkan New masuk atas alasan beliau perlu menunggu arahan pegawai atasan sebelum dibenarkan berbuat demikian. "Saya kenal Eddy secara peribadi dan saya di sini untuk menemui beliau," katanya. Beliau kemudiannya dibenarkan masuk selepas bertegas mahu membuat laporan kerana dihalang mewakili mereka yang ditahan.-malaysiakini  16 Black 505 flashmobbers detained at Sogo... The police have detained 16 participants of the Black 505 flashmob today, in a round-up that included a woman and a child. The flashmob around the Sogo shopping centre vicinity was intended to build up to the Black 505 rally against electoral fraud on June 22 at Padang Merbok.  A group of 14 were first rounded up and hauled into a police Black Maria in front of Sogo at around 2.50pm.Amongst them was Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia’s (Samm) propaganda director Edy Noor Reduan. An officer who identified himself as ASP Shuhaimi said the group will be brought to Dang Wangi police district headquarters. After the Black Maria departed, two more were picked up - student activist Ekhsan Bukharee (above, handcuffed) and another participant - after they attempted to call on passers-by to gather at Dang Wangi in solidarity with the detained 14. Two police officers were seen accompanying the duo to Dang Wangi on foot.  Lawyer initially barred Earlier around 30 people participated in the flashmob that started at 2.15pm, the first of two planned. They stood in front of the popular shopping centre at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman for about 30 minutes holding placards reading ‘EC chairman step down’ and ‘Come down for the Jun 22 Blackout’. After the arrests, the remaining flashmob participants, along with the media, gathered in front of Dang Wangi to get updates on the detainees.Student activist Adam Adli who had also been previously detained for attending a Black 505 rally, was present at the scene. “I know Eddy, and I am here to meet him. A lawyer, New Sin Yew was not allowed to enter the station to meet with those detained,” he said.  The police who prevented New from entry said they were awaiting instructions from their superiors first. They eventually allowed him in after he said he said he would lodge a report for being obstructed from providing legal representation to the detainees. The June 22 rally is being organised to protest alleged electoral fraud during the 13th general election and to call for the resignation of the Election Commission’s leaders. Although they have reached a stalemate in negotiating with the KL City Council (DBKL) over the use of Padang Merbok for the rally, the organisers say they will proceed regardless. The police however today warned that they will take action if the rally organisers do not have the “relevant permits”.-malaysiakini     cheers. |
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Posted: 15 Jun 2013 03:03 AM PDT (Source of article below from here.) Keshe Foundation: The Technology You’ve Never Seen http://www.keshefoundation.org/ Open-Source, Free, Non-Profit Organization for Technological Advances Free energy, hover cars. cures to some diseases, non-propulsion space travel, converting salt water to fresh water — and more exists now through Plasma Reactor technology. Plasma reactor based technology is manipulation of an atom […]
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Systemic Failure (Part III): Information infidelity Posted: 15 Jun 2013 01:00 AM PDT  NST front page on Thursday 13 June 2013 Its seems that Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak’s lousy luck bout is digressing from bad to worse. Not only it has been established that BN’s lowered performance for 13GE is due to the ‘Systemic Failure’, it seems to be continuing post 13GE as the ‘Systemic Faliure’ train rolling on the track towards destruction for the Prime Minister. The NST carried this front page story of PM Najib’s speech at MPI-Petronas Awards night on Wednesday:
Apparently, that was not what PM Najib delivered in his speech. Probably it was included in the text prepared by his office, but during the delivery he decided to skip the whole thing. What was important is what the Prime Minister said, not what was prepared for him to say. There is a serious systemic failure in this. One, who prepared the speech and was the bit about ‘bloggers and portal owners must reveal identity’ was something the Prime Minister wanted to tell at the MPI dinner? Or, it was someone in PMO’s conniving agenda to tighten the screw on bloggers and on line journalists, to emulate what Singapore did last week? Then again, there is this bit about NST played this story. Was it an agenda or negligence? Datuk Rocky raised in his posting today that there is an agenda to put words in the Prime Minister’s mouth. It must be a sinister agenda because someone or a group of individuals within conspired, either the inner circle of the PMO or the editorial board of NST wanted to create a wedge and probably a war between the Prime Minister and bloggers and online journalists. If it was pure reporting negligence because the writer and editor did not check on the delivery before they send the story for production, then it demeans the awards the English daily won that night. It is utter shame that awards winner Farrah Naz Karim’s great work as a newdesk editor is marred considering the Group Managing Editor’s leadership incompetency even boo-booed the speech of the Prime Minister. For the record, PM Najib who picked the NST Group Managing Editor.  Pg 3 NST 15 June 2013 Either way, NST didn’t not apologise for their reporting cock-up. All available is only this story:
Something is amiss here. The story is based on a statement issued by PMO. For the record, the NST front page story about bloggers and online journalists identity is no longer available in the NST portal. That is very much the proof that there was a conspiracy between individuals within PMO and some members of the NST editorial to fix the Prime Minister into a war with the bloggers and online journalists. The very least, that wedged a notch on the distrust block of the bloggers and online journalists with the Prime Minister. Probably Jalil Hamid shouldn’t be away abroad to often and get his act together. ‘Information infidelity’ by personalities that are supposed to work and deliver the best results is something Dato’ Sri Najib cannot afford to have either is his personal capacity or as the Prime Minister, especially now. A lot at stake, more now than ever.
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Putting words into the Prime Minister's mouth Posted: 14 Jun 2013 11:40 PM PDT Updated: By the way, asks Life of Annie, Who are the PM's speech writers?
Alas, someone must have decided to downplay the mistake by not making such a big deal out of the clarification. A single column in a former broadsheet, even on Page 3, is easily overlooked.
1. The PM's Office releases Najib's speech to be delivered late that night in advance to the media. There's a "CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY" note attached to each copy of the speech in case the PM decides to make changes or not to read the speech at all, which happens all the time. The idea of issuing the speech in advance is to enable the newspapers to meet the deadline, usually around midnight. (Even if there isn't a "Check Against Delivery" or "Embargo" notice, the editor would have reminded the reporter covering the event that night to make sure to check against delivery. Even without such a reminder, every reporter covering the PM should be senior enough to know it as basic, a standard operating procedure). 2. The senior reporter processes the speech into a news article at the office before going to the event that night, where the PM is to deliver the speech 3. Najib delivers the speech. However, after vetting the copy earlier, he has decided to skip the paragraph(s) about compelling bloggers to reveal their IDs. Obviously, he does not agree (with his speechwriter) that it is a good idea at all. 4. Reporter fails to check against delivery 5. Newspaper publishes the story 6. All hell breaks loose the next day 7. PM Department issues clarification 8. Editor(s) decides to "bury" the clarification in a single-column.I say, with editors and journalists like these, the PM does not need Malaysiakini or Malaysian Chronicle to do him in! |
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Pasai Ku Li buat gempaq,Najib dan Anwar bertemu di Jakarta?... Posted: 14 Jun 2013 10:11 PM PDT  Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan musuh politiknya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kedua-duanya di Jakarta hari ini, terdapat kemungkinan diadakan pertemuan yang mungkin akan membantu perdana menteri mengelakkan persaingan di Parlimen dan partinya sendiri selepas keputusan buruk Pilihan Raya 2013. The Malaysian Insider difahamkan, pertemuan itu telah cuba diaturkan semenjak sekurang-kurangnya seminggu lalu, dikala Najib hampir pasti dicabar dalam pemilihan Umno tahun ini dan berkemungkinan akan berhadapan dengan usul undi tidak percaya selepas Parlimen mula bersidang pada 24 Jun. Difahamkan Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, yang rapat dengan kedua-dua pemimpin, telah ditugaskan untuk mengaturkan pertemuan tersebut. Beliau kini berada di Jakarta untuk lawatan dua hala. “Pertemuan telah diaturkan dengan Najib sebelum Anwar berjumpa Presiden Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pada Sabtu,” kata sumber kepada The Malaysian Insider.  Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah telah bertemu dengan ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk berbincang mengenai percubaan beliau mengambil alih kepimpinan dalam Dewan Rakyat yang mempunyai 222 kerusi sementara timbalan kepada Najib Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mungkin menjadi pencabarnya dalam pemilihan Umno hujung tahun ini. Kebanyakkan penganalisis politik mengatakan Najib terlalu popular, lebih dari partinya, untuk hilang jawatan dalam kerajaan dan parti. “Akan tetapi Najib berhadapan dengan dua serangan terhadapnya, jadi dia perlu mencari sekutu,” kata sumber lain kepada The Malaysian Insider, mengatakan ironinya Anwar juga mahukan jawatan tertinggi itu.  Tidak diketahui sama ada presiden Indonesia sedar mengenai pertemuan di ibu kota negaranya akan tetapi bekas timbalan presiden Indonesia pernah menjadi pengantara kepada kedua-dua pemimpin sebelum pilihan raya 5 Mei untuk kempen pilihan raya aman. Akan tetapi Kalla mengatakan persepakatan gagal selepas Anwar memulakan kempen di seluruh negara untuk membantah keputusan Pilihan Raya 2013. Pemimpin PKR itu mengatakan Najib tidak pernah menandatangani perjanjian itu walaupun terdapat persetujuan mulut. Pemimpin Malaysia, terutamanya dari Umno, telah diketahui mengadakan pertemuan sulit di Jakarta - hanya mengambil masa dua jam penerbangan dari Kuala Lumpur, bagi mengelakkan publisiti dan gossip. Najib dan Anwar diketahui mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan pemimpin Indonesian yang mahu melihat kestabilan di negara jiran mereka Malaysia – menggajikan dua juta rakyat Indonesia dari profesional, buruh dan pembantu rumah. Kedua-dua Anwar dan Najib merupakan sebahagian daripada Team Wawasan yang memenangi jawatan tertinggi dalam pemilihan Umno 1993, dengan Muhyiddin, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib dan Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik.  Umno memecat Anwar pada 1998 dan bekas timbalan presiden parti itu berhadapan dengan pertuduhan liwat dan rasuah di mahkamah sementara Muhammad meninggalkan parti sebelum pilihan raya bulan lalu. Zahid pada ketika itu merupakan sekutu Anwar dan ketua Pemuda Umno yang menggunakan terma Indonesia KKN untuk korupsi, kronisme dan nepotisme dalam serangan terhadap bekas perdana menteri paling lama berkhidmat, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad semasa perhimpunan Umno 1998. Beliau ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) sementara Anwar dipecat dari jawatan timbalan perdana menteri dan timbalan presiden Umno sebulan selepas perhimpunan parti itu.-The Malaysian Insider  Najib, Anwar in Jakarta, speculation mounts of possible meeting... Datuk Seri Najib Razak and political arch-rival Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim are in Jakarta today, fueling talk of a meeting that could help the prime minister face down possible rivals in parliament and his own party after poor results in Election 2013. The Malaysian Insider understands that the meeting has been in the works for at least a week, just as Najib is facing a likely challenge in the Umno elections this year end and a possible motion of no confidence after parliament convenes on June 24. It is learnt that Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is close to both leaders, has been tasked to facilitate the meeting. He is in Jakarta for a bilateral visit. "A meeting has been set up with Najib before Anwar meets Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Satuday," a source told The Malaysian Insider.  Aides to both leaders are tightlipped about the meeting but sources say the duo have a common interest in preventing other challengers for the prime minister's post. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has been meeting disgruntled Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers this past week to discuss his leadership bid in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat while Najib's deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has been coy about a possible challenge in Umno polls this year end. Most political analysts say Najib is too popular, even more than his party, to lose his government and party posts.  "But Najib is facing twin strikes against him, so he needs to find some allies," another source told The Malaysian Insider, noting the irony that Anwar himself wanted the country's top post. It is not known if the Indonesian president is aware of the talks in his capital city but former Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla mediated between both leaders before the May 5 general elections for a peaceful electoral campaign. But Kalla had said the deal broke after Anwar began a nationwide campaign to protest the Election 2013 results. The PKR leader said Najib never signed the pact despite a verbal agreement. Malaysian leaders, especially Umno, have been known to hold private meetings in Jakarta, which is about two hours flight from Kuala Lumpur, to avoid publicity and gossip. Najib and Anwar are known to have close ties with Indonesian leaders, who are keen to see stability in neighbouring Malaysia which employs some two million Indonesian professionals, workers and housemaids.  Both Anwar and Najib were part of the Team Wawasan or Vision Team that swept through top posts in the 1993 Umno polls, with Muhyiddin, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib and Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik. Umno sacked Anwar in 1998 after he was fired on sodomy and corruption charges while Muhammad left the party before last month's general elections. Zahid was the then Anwar ally and Umno Youth leader who used the Indonesian term KKN for corruption, cronyism and nepotism in a thinly-veiled attack against Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the 1998 Umno assembly. He was briefly held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) while Anwar was fired as deputy prime minister and deputy Umno president on sodomy and corruption charges just months after that assembly.-The Malaysian Insider  Najib likely to face leadership challenge... One month after GE13, attention has turned to the Umno election. Rumours are already circulating about possible challengers to the ruling party's No 1 post. While the Black 505 rallies continue to mobilise protest against the May 5 general election that many recognise as seriously flawed, the dominant political party is myopically focused on its party polls and who will lead the party after October. The flurry of activity in recent weeks - from the call to make Umno more inclusive ethnically to the pleas for the return of the 2,000 delegates as electors (rather than 146,500 members) are all part of the now intensifying internal Umno political jockeying.  All eyes are on the contest for the top leadership position, especially given that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak performed poorer electorally compared to his predecessor and did not fully deliver on his promise of winning back Selangor and a two-thirds majority in Parliament.More and more calls are being made to keep the two top positions uncontested. In Umno, however, the real politics is happening behind the scenes. The grassroots are mobilising for the first stage of the party electoral process - the divisional polls. Despite the public rhetoric, current conditions point to a competitive contest, in which if conditions do not radically change, Najib will likely face a credible and substantive challenge to his position. Five factors There are five underlying factors that point to a challenge: First, the modus operandi in Umno is money politics. This was a legacy of the Mahathir years and has become deeply entrenched, feeding into the concerns over corruption and governance. For many of the delegates, they join the party for the perks and invest in positions for potential financial gains. Elections are an integral part of the financial rewards in the system as they involve the distribution of incentives. The logic is simple - the more the competition within the party, the more the incentives. Given the modus operandi in Umno, there are vested interests in fueling contests.  The higher the level of competition, the greater the promise of rewards. This election involves more people, so competition is costly, involving mass outlays of funds to more people than ever before. Part of the call for the return to the old 2,000-delegate system is driven by this economic ‘money politics' reality.There is a tension here between those who would like to minimise costs, with those who would like to receive dividends. The numbers are on the receiving ends, thus the systemic pressure for greater competition. Second, Umno as a party is deeply factionalised. This is not unique. In fact for dominant one-party system this is the norm, as seen in Taiwan, Japan and Mexico. All political parties have some degree of internal divisions. These divisions, however, feed into competition as the leadership has to accommodate the various warlords. In some cases, such as recently in Negeri Sembilan, the leadership has had to take sides on who to elevate to positions in the state government. Warlordism fuels competition by bringing national politics to the state level and vice-versa. Currently, the intensity of conflict at the state level and underlying resentment against Umno's current leadership for perceived favouritism contributes to pressure for more leadership competition. Malay chauvinism under challenge Third, Umno as a party is being pressured to reform its identity after GE13. To be more precise, its Malay chauvinism is being challenged. The challenge is taking the form of calls to move the party into a more multi-ethnic entity, and be more inclusive of non-Malays. This is in response to the effective death of the BN as a multi-ethnic power-sharing coalition in GE13. This measure initially mooted by Najib has yielded a strong reaction from the rank and file, who have come out of a polls where ethnic Malay chauvinism was stoked and ignited to bring the party faithful together against the opposition. The disconnect between the multi-ethnic initiative promoted by a national leader seeking national representation and the party grassroots embedded in their ethnic nationalist framework is real, and has caused disgruntlement among some and anger among others.  The push to maintain the openness in the party electoral system taps into this, as more numbers can openly display their rejection of transforming the party outside of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Malay chauvinist mode.Fourth, there is the reality of generational pressures within the party. Najib was not successful in having many of ‘his men' elected in GE13, as he hoped to garner a new cadre of leaders to support his push to consolidate his position within the party. After all, he has yet to be elected to the presidency. The push for younger, new faces remains, but the bottleneck in the leadership is substantive. The impact is that younger leaders will by nature ally with different actors with the hope of moving up the ranks in a system that has been slow to engage in generational transformation. Finally, amidst the structural concerns is the long-standing push for statesmanship. Many in Umno hark back to the good old days when Umno leaders were respected across the Malaysian society, and seen as national leaders to be proud of. There is division within Umno, and nationally, regarding Najib's leadership as well as his statesmanship. He has not taken a prominent role post-GE13, and this raises questions. Najib, like his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faces the difficulty of meeting conflicting demands and higher expectations. This push for ‘statesmanship' leadership will be a driver for some of the potential contenders for power. Najib seeks new allies These party dynamics - money politics, warlord factionalism, party identity, generational pressures and statesmanship - all contribute to increased possibilities of a leadership challenge and greater party contention. At issue will be the new electoral system, the timing of the polls (with early polls apparently favoured by Najib) and the composition of the challenge itself. The question being asked is whether Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is 66 last month, will feel this is his last chance to take a shot at the top spot or someone else steps up to the challenge. Also openly being discussed is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, 76, who has shown a willingness to contest for Umno president in the past. It is unlikely, given the systemic issues at play, that no one will step forward. Despite the questions around GE13 and the continued concerns with electoral irregularities, Umno feels victorious and is being portrayed as the ‘winner,' contributing to more risk-taking and competition.  We have seen after the May 5 general election, new alliances are being forged - at least temporarily - ahead of the Umno polls. Najib has brought many of the Abdullah allies into the cabinet and he has reached out to Sabah.He has not significantly rocked the warlord interests in most of the states as he sought more allies. His biggest ‘new' ally appears to be Mahathir who said there was 'no alternative' to Najib in a speech in Japan. But history has shown that Mahathir's fidelity as an ally is uncertain at best. Najib has simultaneously thrown down the gauntlet by not giving Muhyiddin a senior cabinet position and holding his people at bay by not including them in the cabinet. The contest effectively began when the GE13 results came in, continued with the cabinet selection and is ongoing. The strategy of the marginalisation of Muhyiddin has begun. In the weeks ahead, the backroom politics will only intensify. It is much too early to write off a challenge. In fact, current conditions suggest the opposite - a growing competition within Umno. Najib will rely on the incumbency advantage, something which he had used effectively in GE13. But despite the power of incumbency, Najib's position should not yet be seen as secure, as he has to pass the test of his party in what may very well be the fiercest contests for the party leadership yet.-Bridget Welsh,malaysiakini Najib bakal dicabar jawatan Presiden UMNO  cheers. |
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Time for a Parks, Gardens and Greenery Board in Penang Posted: 14 Jun 2013 11:27 PM PDT Blog visitor Kevin writes about the lack of tree care in Penang. Trees along our roadsides experience a lot of stress. In comparison, how many trees in the wild on Penang Hill or in the jungles were uprooted? Kevin writes: Are you suggesting that we chop off all trees just because there is a risk [Read more]
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Why is Transport Ministry Silent on KLIA2 Fiasco? Posted: 14 Jun 2013 05:40 PM PDT We would like to ask why is it that the newly appointed Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein been silent as a mouse over the entire RM4 billion KLIA2 fiasco by the Malaysia Airports (MAHB)? The current KLIA2 airport contract was scheduled to be completed by September 2011 but has been delayed at least 7 times since then with no definite deadline in sight. MAHB has claimed that the delays plaguing the completion of KLIA2 is the result of the non-delivery of parts of the project by contractors, leading Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to come out to say that it would impose liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) on the responsible parties. Unsurprisingly, the main contractors of the project all lined up to deny their complicity in the delays and placed the blame squarely on MAHB the project owner who allegedly made repeated variation orders to the original contract. While we are not privy to the details of the dispute which is now triggering the blame game between the various parties, the question that needs to be asked is, after nearly 2 years of delay, why is it that MAHB is only coming out for the first time to blame the contractors? If it is really the contractors who are at fault, why haven’t they been penalised with the LAD since September 2011? As the Minister of Transport with direct purview over Malaysia Airports, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin must step in immediately to resolve this protracted scandal and bring to task all those who are responsible for the embarrassment to the nation, and the sheer waste of public funds. What is worse is the fact that the Ministry of Transport should have been well on top of the scandal as the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Datuk Seri Long See Wool sits as a Board of Director of MAHB. Datuk Seri Long has been a Director since 9 September 2008 and he also sits on the Board Procurement Committee and Board Risk Management Committee of MAHB. Therefore unless the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Transport himself decides to say that he knows absolutely nothing about what is going on in the KLIA2 fiasco, the Ministry cannot deny culpability in the entire debacle. This drastic increase in cost has resulted in MAHB having to raise bonds amount to RM3.1 billion to date, with another RM1 billion expected to be raised in the near future, causing MAHB to take on debt which may not have been necessary in the first place. However, the ultimate losers on the “low cost” airport which busted the budget will be the Malaysian travellers who will have to bear the cost of higher airport taxes for MAHB to repay its debts. This will also severely impact Malaysia’s competitiveness as the hub for low-cost carriers in the Asia region. This conundrum of higher debt will also result in a conflict of interest for Datuk Seri Long and the Ministry. The question will be raised as to whether as a Board Member of MAHB, will Datuk Seri Long support the increase in airport taxes to help MAHB pare down its debt and raise its profitability or will he take on the regulator’s role of suppressing airport taxes to protect the interest of ordinary Malaysians as well as our competitiveness as the hub for low-cost carriers in the region? Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Hussein must also declare as to why the contract for Managing Director of MAHB, Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad who has helmed the company for the past 9 years will be ending in 7 June 2013, has been extended again as at 6 June 2013 for an additional year. It is clear that Tan Sri Bashir has failed to competently manage the single largest project by MAHB during his reign and his contract must not be renewed. The failure and scandal of KLIA2 cannot be excused but Malaysians are once again victims of Barisan Nasional’s incompetence when those who fail the rakyat get their contracts renewed for the umpteenth time. Finally, we also call upon the Minister to also support the call by Air Asia CEO, Aireen Omar to set up an independent body to probe the much-delayed construction of the new low-cost airport, KLIA2. She said that “unless the true cause of the delay is made known, AirAsia feels there may be more finger pointing (against AirAsia or contractors) which will do nothing towards the completion of the project”. Datuk Seri Hishamuddin, who has yet to respond to Pakatan Rakyat’s call for a meeting over this issue, must respond immediately over these issues raised and tackle the crisis which may yet worsen to ensure that the interests of Malaysians are protected.  |
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